Endless chain snow removal device



Oct. 30, 1956 A. E. SCHMECHEL ENDLESS CHAIN snow REMOVAL DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 29, 1953 INVENTOR. //7','qe/vo E .SCHMECHEL Arraemsvfi 0 1956 A. E. SCHMECHEL ENDLESS CHAIN SNOW REMOVAL DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1953 V INVENTOR. fle /0 E5CHMECHE4 ww/i United States Patent ENDLESS CHAIN SNOW REMOVAL DEVICE Arno E. Schmechel, Thiensville, Wis.

Application December 29, 1953, Serial No. 400,880

11 Claims. (Cl. 37-53) This invention relates to an endless chain snow removal device.

2,768,454 Patented Oct. 30, 1956 plate has welded reinforcing angles 11, 12, 13, best shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 5. To the angles 11 and 13 are connected the bracket 14 for the motor base 15 and the bracket 16 for clamping connection with axle 6. Arms 17 are welded from bracket plate 16 to motor base plate 15 to provide a rigid connection between these parts.

' While any desired means of connecting the snow removal The device comprises a power driven endless chain profrom the surface to be cleaned. One of the features of the invention is the provision of plates which extend inwardly of the chain as well as radially outwardly therefrom so as to clear away the snow from the area within the path described by the chain.

The chain is mounted immediately at the front of a mounting plate, the lower edge of which constitutes a scraper which desirably engages the surface traveled by the device to assure the clean and substantially complete removal of snow from such surface. A particular feature of the invention is the arrangement of the plate and the chain at a rather sharp acute angle to the path of advance of the device so that as the snow removing lugs of the chain traverse the surface to be cleaned, they will also develop a substantial thrust tending to advance the apparatus along such path. plate and the chain are not parallel to the wheeled axle of the supporting carriage but are set at about forty-fivetlegrees to the axle, being also at about forty-five degrees to the path of advance.

Runners are provided at the base of the backing plate which tend to constrain the device to forward movement in response to the propulsive effect of the chain, thus absorbing any lateral component of thrust.

The backing plate really constitutes the frame of the apparatus. It has a motor support Welded to it and it carries the bearings for the various driven shafts and sprockets. The entire assembly comprising the plate, the snow removing chain and the motor is unitary and is adjustably mounted on a single wheeled axle to which the guiding handles of the appliance are attached.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view partially in plan and partially taken in section on the line 11 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view taken in the'plane indicated at 22 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view of the apparatus in rear elevation, the

belt housing being omitted.

Fig. 4 is a view taken in section on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view in rear threequarter perspective of the motor mount and axle connection of the snow removal unit.

The snow removal unit presently to be described is detachably and adjustably mounted on the squared axle 6 to which the handles 7 are attached. A single pair of wheels 8 is used so that the snow removal unit can readily be raised and lowered and turned at will by the operator manipulating the handles.

A trapezoidal backing plate 10 constitutes the frame upon which the snow removal unit is assembled. Thisv In other words, the backing 1 unit to the wheeled axle may be employed, I have found it convenient to use a simple pair of clamping bars 19, 20 bolted together at 21 as shown in Fig. 5 to secure the plate 16 on the axle in any desired position of angular or lateral sliding adjustment.

The prime mover or motor mounted on base 15 may be of any suitable type. As shown, there is a gasoline engine 22 having a driving pulley 23 on its crank shaft 24 connected by belt 25 with a driven pulley 26 on shaft 27. The driven shaft 27 is mounted in a tubular bearing sleeve 28 which projects through the mounting plate 10 and may conveniently be anchored by strap29 mounted on the reinforcing anglell at the rear of the plate 10 as shown in Fig. 1.

As viewed from the front, the plate 10 has a downwardly extending scraper extension 30, the lower margin of which is intended to ride upon or near the surface to be cleared of snow. By reason of the fact that the apparatus is mounted on a two-wheeled axle, and is readily tiltable upon the axis of the wheels 8, the handle 7 may be used not alone for guiding and propelling the apparatus but also for lifting the scraper blade 30 and determining its position with respect to the surface traversed. Thus the degree of scraping pressure is within the control of the operator. It may also be noted that the snow removal unit may be tilted to clear any obstacle encountered by the scraper. However, ordinary sidewalk cracks do not ordinarily constitute such obstacles because these are normally at right angles to the side walk, whereas the scraper is set at approximately 45 and therefore can not drop into the crack.

The scraper 30 may constitute a separate heavy plate as indicated in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Above the scraper the margin 31 of plate 10 extends upwardly and outwardly at an angle to the right as viewed in Fig. 2. As viewed from the rear the upward and outward overhanging of margin 31 is to the left of the path of travel of the apparatus because the direction of movement of the conveyor chain hereinafter to be described happens to be toward the left. 1

At opposite sides of plate 10 near the bottom thereof are bolted studs 32, 33 which carry bushings on which the idler sprockets 34, 35 are rotatably mounted. The live sprocket 36 is mounted on the outer end of shaft 27 to be driven by power from the engine 22.

The chain operates over these several sprockets in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. Its lower run 41 moves from the substantially vertical margin 42 of plate 10 which is at the right as viewed in the direction of travel toward the base of the upwardly inclined margin 31 of such plate which is at the left as viewed in.the direction of travel. After the chain passes about sprocket 35 the elevating run 43 thereof leads upwardly to the driving sprocket 36 along the inclined margin 31 of plate 10. After the chain passes about the driving sprocket 36 its return run 44 goes downwardly and laterally to sprocket 34. Thus the chain may describe a closed figure of triangular form, this being the form using the smallest number of sprockets. However, there is no objection to lengthening the path of the chain by provision of additional sprockets if desired.

- It is preferred to provide forwardly projecting flanges at 45 and 46 at the top end along the margin 42 at the righ hand side of the plate 10 as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4.

The chain carries snow propelling lugs 50 which project outwardly from the chain to a position for contact with the surface 51 which isdto be cleaned. As the chain operates, the lugs or blades wipe across the sidewalk or driveway as shown in Fig. 2 until they reach sprocket 35 at the end of scraper 30. At this point the lugs start upwardly on run 43. of the chain to elevate the, removed snow and to pile it at the side of the path which is being cleaned. The angle or pitch of the sloping side 31 of the plate 10, and the corresponding run 43 of chain 40 fixes the angle at which the surface of the piled snow will be formed. While the angle is not critical, it should be such as to make a stable pile from which the snow will not fall back onto the cleaned surface.

It will, be observed from Fig. 1 that the lugs or blades 50 which move the snow extend both forwardly and rearwardly from the supporting chain 40. Their rear margins are in immediate proximity to the plate 10. Any snow which slips away from the propelling lug or blade lies against the advancing plate which constitutes the frame of the apparatus and is necessarily removed laterally by successive lugs of the chain as the device advances.

The chain naturally tends to act only upon the snow engaged by its lugs. However, since the plate as a whole is advancing during the use of the machine it becomes necessary to remove from the space within the area described by the chain the snow which would otherwise accumulate therein to offer resistance to the movement of the plate. Accordingly, at intervals along the length of the chain, I provide special lugs at 53 which are identical with the lugs or blades 50 so far as their scraping portions are concerned but which have extensions at 54 toward the rear or inner side of the chain as best shown in Figs. 1 and 4. These extensions sufficiently traverse the space within the chain so as to leave no substantial body of snow to be encountered by the plate 10 as it advances. Because of the inward extent of the portions 54 of these special lugs 53, the said extensions would interfere with each other in passing about the sprockets if every blade were provided with such an extension. Accordingly, the special lugs or blades 53 are relatively few in number and widely separated along the runs of the chain. In the particular device illustrated only three of the lugs have such extensions as compared with ten which do not. i

One or more runners parallel to the path of travel may be provided at 55 (Figs. 1 and 3). These runners do not need to be very long nor do they need to be exactly parallel to the path of travel. It is theirfunction to rest on the surface traversed by the apparatus to resist lateral displacement of the apparatus as a result of reaction thrust consequent upon the scraping movement of the lugs or blades 50. v i l By reason of the angular disposition of the entire snow removal apparatus unit with respect to the path of travel, this reaction thrust has a forward as well as a lateral component. The lateral component being resisted by the runners 55, the entire propulsion reaction tends to be developed in a forward direction to minimize the amount of effort which the operator needs exert to move the apparatus over the surface to be cleaned.

Various features of the device as shown, including the belt and pulley guard 56 are nonessential and may be omitted. I do not wish to be limited except as indicated in the appended claims. I

I claim:

1. The combination with a wheeled carriage having a guiding handle for manipulation of the carriage upon a predetermined path of advance, of a chain provided with means for scraping the surface traversed in the advance of the carriage along said path, a frame having means for supporting the chain in a position oblique with respect to the path, a scraper plate mounted on said frame behind said chain and substantially parallel thereto for cooperation with said chain and scraping means as a conveyor, and means for driving the chain to effect the scraping of 4 the traversed surface in a direction having a substantial rearward component for propulsion of scraped material along said scraper means, whereby the reaction of said chain against said surface develops forward thrust assisting in the propulsion of such carriage in its said direction of advance.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in further combination with a runner having a general direction parallel to the path of advance of the apparatus, whereby to resist lateral displacement of the apparatus by any lateral component of such thrust.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in further combination witha backing plate constituting a backing for the entire space enclosed between the conveyor runs.

4. The device of claim 3 in which said plate extends upwardly and laterally at one side of the path of travel and the conveyor has an elevating run of similar upward and lateral extent.

5. The device of claim 3 in which certain scraping blades of the conveyor are provided with extensions at the forward side of the conveyor toward the inside of the path enclosed by the runs of the conveyor.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with a two-wheeled axle having guiding handle means, of a snow removal unit having a connection of adjustable angle to said axle, said unit comprising an upright frame plate obliquely disposed forwardly of the axle, a prime mover mounted at the rear of the plate, means carried by the plate supporting sprockets forwardly thereof, driving connections from said motor and including a shaft constituting a part of said means and extending through said plate and upon which one of said sprockets is mounted, a conveyor, trained about said sprockets forwardly of the plate and having outwardly projecting scraping blades, two of said sprockets being located in laterally spaced positions adjacent the bottom of the plate to define a conveyor run along which said blades move across the surface to be cleaned in a scraping direction, having a rearward component and a lateral component, another of said sprockets being located upwardly and laterally offset from the run aforesaid to define an elevating run of said conveyor whereby said blades lift and pile snow scraped from the surface traversed.

7. The device of claim 6 in which said plate comprises a scraper blade immediately behind the blades of the scraping run of said conveyor.

8. The device of claim 7 in which said blade is provided with a runner at the side thereof remote from the elevating run of the conveyor, said runner resisting lateral thrust developed by the scraping action of the scraping blades of the conveyor.

9. The device of claim 8 in further combination with extensions carried by certain blades of the conveyor and projecting forwardly and toward the inside of the respective runs of the conveyor for displacing and removing snow accumulating forwardly of said frame plate and between the conveyor runs.

10. A snow removal device comprising a frame having a panel wall provided at its lower margin with a scraper, a wheeled carriage upon which said frame is mounted, means for adjusting the frame on said carriage to dispose the panel wall and its scraper at an angle with respect to the path of travel of the wheeled carriage, said frame being provided with sprockets at the forward side of the panel, a chain trained over said sprockets, two of said sprockets being widely spaced along the scraper, whereby said chain has a scraping run across the surface tobe cleaned, means for driving the scraping run of the chain in a direction having .a rearward component along the angularly disposed scraper, blades carried by the chain and projecting toward said surfacefrom said scraping run and cooperating with the scraper to constitute a snow conveyor, oneof said sprocketsbeing located above and laterally offset from the run aforesaid at the end thereof which is rearmost in the angular position of the panel wall and scraper and to which an elevating run of said chain extends.

11. The device of claim 10 in which the driving means comprises a prime mover unitarily mounted on said frame at the rear of the panel wall and having a driving connection with one of said sprockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ursino Oct. 23, Gullberg Feb. 26, Wolgamood Mar. 25, Morse et a1. Mar. 30, Kuyendall Dec. 7, Joy Nov. 4, 

